Ta-mei Fa-chang (752-839) was a Chinese Ch'an master. After he got awakened underthe Great master Ma-tsu Tao-i (709-788), he went to the Ta-mei mountain and resided there.
One day there was a traveling monk who got lost in the Ta-mei...
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The majority of the following books are from the library of Chon Tri. Many of the summaries and in his own words. If you wish to purchase the book, click on the cover image and you will be linked to Amazon.com.

SummaryHelen's done a wonderful job!, June 2, 2004 Reviewer: Sunny Noah "Sunny" (CA, United States) This little book on green tea is written by an experienced, well, maybe professional I should have said, tea drinker and practitioner in the US. You will get lots of information on this little book. It will turn you into a *knowledgeable* tea drinker overnight. Helen gives a brief survey on the popular and finer green teas as well as on tea preparations and teawares... It would be a great pleasure to read. However, I wish she would make the description more elaborate. For example, if she could give a more detailed description on the Dragon Well, High Mountain (Dong Ding--Cold Summit) OOlong, Bi Luo Chun, ...the finer teas, then a greater pleasure to read. Also you can find many useful and trustworthy resources from which you order quality teas. I highly recommend this book to any tea lovers as well as anyone who wants to give it a shot to tea!

SummaryA must for any student of the Way of Tea, April 4, 2000 Reviewer: Laura Lynne Ohata (Austin, Texas, U.S.A.) Well-written and well-illustrated, Chado briefly covers, Philosophy and History, while the majority of the book focuses on the more practical aspects of hospitality: gardens,teahouses, utensils, etiquette procedures for guest and host. Color and black and white photographs illustrate a variety of the utensils employed in Chado. Examples of scrolls, flower arrangements, and sweets accompany explanations of their use in conjunction with the seasons. Guest procedures for a standard tea gathering cover the invitation, appropriate attire, articles to be taken,arrival, the meal, viewing the arranging of the charcoal,intermission, thick tea, thin tea, and departure. The final chapter contains the detailed procedures required of all beginning Ura Senke students, called "wari geiko." Whether or not the reader is just beginning the study of tea, or an advanced student in need of a reference for review, I highly recommend the book.

Book Description Tea is hot and getting hotter. In the New Tea Book, no leaf is left unturned. Discover the wide variety of teas that are available and their myriad health benefits, as well as over 50 recipes for cooking with tea: beverages, savories, and delectable sweets. This strikingly photographed volume takes readers on a visual journey exploring the riches of black, green, oolong, and herbal teas, from the fragrant, full-bodied Assam to the spirited and spicy Yunnan. An exciting addition is the completely new Personal Spa section, introducing a host of aromatherapy touches for the home with recipes for tea bath sachets, eye pillows, beauty soaps, and potpourris. Finally, a list of resources gives information on where to find interesting tea blends and equipment, not to mention author Sara Perry's favorite international teahouses. Here's just the right cup o' tea.

34.CHADO: THE NEW TEA COMPANION: A GUIDE TO TEAS THROUGHOUT THE WORLD by Jane Pettigrew, Bruce Richardson
Publisher: The National Trust of England (ISBN #: 0966347838, Hardcover: 176 pages , April 2005)
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SummaryEditorial Reviews

Tea Time Magazine, Spring 2005 There is perhaps no guide book for tea drinkers - or connoisseurs - as definitive as The New Tea Companion.

Book Description London's Jane Pettigrew has joined American tea writer Bruce Richardson in creating the latest definitive guide to teas throughout the world. Beautifully illustrated, this classic book gives detailed information and brewing instructions for over 80 teas. Chapters on the newest information about tea and health, tea production, tea blending and tea hospitality are included. This book is a valuable up-to-date addition to libraries of both tea novices and professionals. If you have ever wondered about the time and temperature to brew your teas - white, green, black, or oolong - this is the book for you.

SummaryThe Urasenke Way of Tea dates back to its founder, Sen no Rikyu (1522-1591) who perfected the tea ritual he learned from his teacher and passed it to his heir and on down to modern times. This discourse presents the procedures and implements the Way of Tea with step-by-step instructions.

From the Publisher Unique in its more than three hundred recipes, The Tea Book is a comprehensive look at tea. It's about its history, where it's grown, how it is prepared, what the various grades of tea are. There are chapters on decaffeinated teas, flavored teas, tea accessories, and tea medicinal uses. Campbell also describes British teatimes, tea leaf reading, and the Japanese Tea Ceremony. You'll find tea recipes and brewing techniques from around the world, from festive teas to teas used in afterdinner drinks.

SummaryFROM THE PUBLISHER In Japan, serving tea is an art and a spiritual discipline. As an art, the tea ceremony is an occasion to appreciate the clean lines of the tea room's design, the feel of the bowl in the hand, the company of friends, and a simple moment of purity. As a discipline, it has roots in the twelfth century and intimate connections to architecture, landscape gardening, ceramics, painting, flower arrangement, and, of course, Zen Buddhism. Written by contemporary tea masters, The Tea Ceremony takes a clear and comprehensive look at the sources and inspiration of this ancient discipline. The authors trace the practice from its earliest origins to the present day, considering in detail the individuals who helped it evolve. They discuss all the elements of the ceremony-including art, architecture, incense, flowers, and the influence of Zen-and show how readily the study of tea can serve as a spiritual path to greater insight and calm. Originally published in 1973, The Tea Ceremony has been revised extensively. Along with a rewritten and updated text, entirely new photographs and line drawings have been selected. Over 75 step-by-step stills of the tea ritual itself, featuring a number of close-up shots, give the reader a fuller visual understanding of the ceremony. Numerous line drawings illuminating the more important elements of the ceremony have been inserted for the first time, and for those readers wishing to delve further into the subject, bilingual charts of tea terms have been appended. This lavish new edition of The Tea Ceremony adds an important dimension to the literature of tea, capturing the aesthetic spirit that lies at the heart of the ritual.

SummaryFROM THE PUBLISHER A translation of the Japanese classic Sado-saijiki, Chado: The Way of Tea explores the unique and varied aspects of the Japanese teaceremony. First published in Japanese in 1960, this beautifully written, scholarly work covers all tea-related events in Japan throughout the year, serving as the central text for followers of chanoyu, the Japanese tea ceremony. At once an almanac and encyclopedia of tea, Chado: The Way of Tea includes traditional contemplative poetry used during the tea ceremony, vignettes of festivals and formal occasions, and reflective short essays on the subject of tea. The entry for each month contains nine parts: features, events, memorials, flowers, cakes, foods, meals, words for contemplation, and meisu (utensils and related furnishings). Perfect for the tea-lover, Japanophile, or anyone interested in chanoyu, Chado: The Way of Tea, gives invaluable insight into Japan's most beloved ceremony.

Book Description The Way of Tea is a journey back in time to the origins of tea cultivation and Oriental tea ceremonies. It is also a book of advice, describing how to get full pleasure and benefit from tea today. The ways in which we store tealeaves, then prepare and serve this exquisite brew, influence tea's properties and affect its taste and aroma. Master Lam Km Chuen and his wife Kai Sin offer expert guidance on the essentials of the tea serving art. Separate chapters are devoted to . . . The Tea Story—the origins of tea cultivation in China, and the spread of tea drinking and tea ceremonies from Asia to Europe, then later to America . . . Cultivating Tea—the many varieties, which fall into general categories of green (non-fermented), oolong (semi-fermented), black/red (fermented), and white teas . . . Preparing and Serving Tea—the importance of correct storage and water purity, and methods of preparation and serving ... Healing Teas—discussion of health benefits of teas, supplemented with approximately 20 recipes that incorporate ginger, lychee, ginseng, dry orange peel, and other healthful ingredients. Modern science has come to recognize many health properties in tea—qualities that tea connoisseurs have known about for centuries. Full-color photos throughout.

Book Description Chanoyu, widely known as the tea ceremony, developed in Japan in the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries. In it, such ordinary acts of daily life as serving a meal and tea to guests have been raised to the status of religious discipline. Wind in the Pines is a collection of writings that seek to illuminate the nature and aesthetics of chanoyu as a Buddhist path. Beginning with works on the art of linked verse (renga) that directly influenced the development of the way of tea, this book includes documents that are associated with the central figures in the formation of chanoyu in the spirit of wabi--the unsullied poverty of the hermit's thatched hut--and that have been treasured by practitioners down to the present.